Rogers wanted to get his master's to further his education, to learn more about his profession – to become a better teacher. But there was another benefit that sweetened the deal: the 10 percent pay increase that teachers throughout North Carolina receive when they have their master's.

Rogers is on track to finish his degree by next May. But he might be too late. The N.C. General Assembly is considering a state budget that would eliminate those pay bumps for teachers with master's degrees. The cutoff date? The start of the 2014-15 school year.

The state budget, which passed the Senate on May 23 and is being debated in the House, would grandfather in teachers who have a master's degree by April 1, 2014, said Sara Clark, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Instruction. Once the master's supplements are phased out, the plan is to put teachers on a merit pay system, where teachers' salaries are tied to their students' end-of-grade test scores. Exact details of that system are still being determined.

But critics say merit-based systems are flawed, pointing out that test scores don't always reflect how much students learned from their teachers. Getting an advanced degree gives teachers a deeper understanding of one subject or a better idea of how to teach students at different levels – important parts of education that aren't always quantifiable. Taking away the incentive to get that higher education could result in a decline in the quality of teaching in North Carolina, teachers say.

"If (legislators) were to send this message out, ‘We want highly qualified teachers, but we don't really want to pay you for going that extra mile,' I think in the end the quality of education overall is going to suffer," Rogers said.

During the 2011-12 school year, about 28 percent of public school teachers in North Carolina had their master's degrees, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. That's almost 27,000 teachers. The numbers are similar in southeastern North Carolina: 26 percent of New Hanover County Schools' teachers have master's degrees, while 21 percent of Brunswick County teachers and 23 percent of Pender County teachers have them.

Kendra Hester teaches sixth-grade math and science at Roland-Grise Middle School. She's had her master's in elementary education since 2002, and it has "exponentially improved" her teaching.

"It encouraged me to really get to know my students as people, not to look at them as a whole class," she said. Hester said she learned how to "help them understand how to be more successful."

That's hard to measure with a multiple-choice test question. But that's the idea behind tying teachers' salaries to higher education rather than test scores, said Ken Teitelbaum, who's the dean of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson College of Education.

"You have to take a broader view of what it means to have an educated workforce," he said. "It may not just show up on the test scores of little kids who feel stressed out in terms of testing."

Amy Auth, deputy chief of staff for Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, said the state wants to "recognize and reward" teachers based on student achievement on end-of-grade tests.

"We're implementing a pay for excellence system that will include $10.2 million to fund annual pay raises for teachers whose effectiveness is measured based on performance evaluations and data," she said.

Research shows that a teacher's master's degree has little influence on their students' test scores. Auth used that to justify phasing out the supplements. But Robert Smith, an education professor at UNCW, said that research is inconclusive. Connecting master's degrees to student test scores is a narrow measure of success, he said. It doesn't show the effects master's degrees can have on teacher curiosity and innovation – traits that make students and schools better in intangible ways.

"To evaluate master's degrees in terms of this very narrow impact on student test scores – it's going to have such a negative effect in terms of the ways in which master's degrees help develop school leaders," he said.

All teachers are paid on a scale that takes into account their years of experience. Teachers who have a master's degree also get a 10 percent supplement. For example, a teacher with five years of experience and a bachelor's degree would make $31,220 a year. A five-year teacher with a master's degree would make $34,340.

Amy Kyle teaches language arts and works as a literacy coach at Holly Shelter Middle. But she's also a waitress at Captain Bill's restaurant, a second job she picked up to make ends meet.

Kyle loves her job and the students she works with, she said. "But it would be really nice not to have to work a second job. I have a college degree and a master's, and I'm working a second job," she said.

Changing careers for a better salary is always in the back of teachers' minds, said Kim Guthrie, who teaches kindergarten at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School. Guthrie is getting her master's in language and literacy from UNCW, expecting to graduate in December. She'd always planned to go back to school after she got her bachelor's degree, but the extra bump in pay helped her justify taking on the cost of a master's.

"Teachers don't do this because of the money. We do it because we love to help children," she said. "Things like (phasing out supplements), these things continue to be a slap in the face. You're going to take away what little we do get to better ourselves."

Smith agreed that taking away extra pay for advanced degrees puts a burden on individual teachers. But he also worried about the larger effect it would have.

"This is only going to be seen by teachers as another statement which says that the state doesn't value the work of teachers," he said. "We're essentially withdrawing our financial support."

<p>Right now, Andrew Rogers is half teacher, half student.</p><p>He's a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Holly Shelter Middle School. He's simultaneously getting a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Ohio Valley University.</p><p>Rogers wanted to get his master's to further his education, to learn more about his profession – to become a better teacher. But there was another benefit that sweetened the deal: the 10 percent pay increase that teachers throughout North Carolina receive when they have their master's. </p><p>Rogers is on track to finish his degree by next May. But he might be too late. The N.C. General Assembly is considering a state budget that would eliminate those pay bumps for teachers with master's degrees. The cutoff date? The start of the 2014-15 school year. </p><p>The state budget, which passed the Senate on May 23 and is being debated in the House, would grandfather in teachers who have a master's degree by April 1, 2014, said Sara Clark, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Instruction. Once the master's supplements are phased out, the plan is to put teachers on a merit pay system, where teachers' salaries are tied to their students' end-of-grade test scores. Exact details of that system are still being determined. </p><p>But critics say merit-based systems are flawed, pointing out that test scores don't always reflect how much students learned from their teachers. Getting an advanced degree gives teachers a deeper understanding of one subject or a better idea of how to teach students at different levels – important parts of education that aren't always quantifiable. Taking away the incentive to get that higher education could result in a decline in the quality of teaching in North Carolina, teachers say. </p><p>"If (legislators) were to send this message out, 'We want highly qualified teachers, but we don't really want to pay you for going that extra mile,' I think in the end the quality of education overall is going to suffer," Rogers said.</p><p>During the 2011-12 school year, about 28 percent of public school teachers in North Carolina had their master's degrees, according to data from the state Department of Public Instruction. That's almost 27,000 teachers. The numbers are similar in southeastern North Carolina: 26 percent of New Hanover County Schools' teachers have master's degrees, while 21 percent of Brunswick County teachers and 23 percent of Pender County teachers have them.</p><p>Kendra Hester teaches sixth-grade math and science at Roland-Grise Middle School. She's had her master's in elementary education since 2002, and it has "exponentially improved" her teaching. </p><p>"It encouraged me to really get to know my students as people, not to look at them as a whole class," she said. Hester said she learned how to "help them understand how to be more successful."</p><p>That's hard to measure with a multiple-choice test question. But that's the idea behind tying teachers' salaries to higher education rather than test scores, said Ken Teitelbaum, who's the dean of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson College of Education. </p><p>"You have to take a broader view of what it means to have an educated workforce," he said. "It may not just show up on the test scores of little kids who feel stressed out in terms of testing."</p><p>Amy Auth, deputy chief of staff for Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, said the state wants to "recognize and reward" teachers based on student achievement on end-of-grade tests. </p><p>"We're implementing a pay for excellence system that will include $10.2 million to fund annual pay raises for teachers whose effectiveness is measured based on performance evaluations and data," she said. </p><p>Research shows that a teacher's master's degree has little influence on their students' test scores. Auth used that to justify phasing out the supplements. But Robert Smith, an education professor at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a>, said that research is inconclusive. Connecting master's degrees to student test scores is a narrow measure of success, he said. It doesn't show the effects master's degrees can have on teacher curiosity and innovation – traits that make students and schools better in intangible ways.</p><p>"To evaluate master's degrees in terms of this very narrow impact on student test scores – it's going to have such a negative effect in terms of the ways in which master's degrees help develop school leaders," he said. </p><p>All teachers are paid on a scale that takes into account their years of experience. Teachers who have a master's degree also get a 10 percent supplement. For example, a teacher with five years of experience and a bachelor's degree would make $31,220 a year. A five-year teacher with a master's degree would make $34,340.</p><p>Amy Kyle teaches language arts and works as a literacy coach at Holly Shelter Middle. But she's also a waitress at Captain Bill's restaurant, a second job she picked up to make ends meet. </p><p>Kyle loves her job and the students she works with, she said. "But it would be really nice not to have to work a second job. I have a college degree and a master's, and I'm working a second job," she said. </p><p>Changing careers for a better salary is always in the back of teachers' minds, said Kim Guthrie, who teaches kindergarten at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School. Guthrie is getting her master's in language and literacy from UNCW, expecting to graduate in December. She'd always planned to go back to school after she got her bachelor's degree, but the extra bump in pay helped her justify taking on the cost of a master's. </p><p>"Teachers don't do this because of the money. We do it because we love to help children," she said. "Things like (phasing out supplements), these things continue to be a slap in the face. You're going to take away what little we do get to better ourselves."</p><p>Smith agreed that taking away extra pay for advanced degrees puts a burden on individual teachers. But he also worried about the larger effect it would have.</p><p>"This is only going to be seen by teachers as another statement which says that the state doesn't value the work of teachers," he said. "We're essentially withdrawing our financial support."</p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</p>